Assessing Global Health Initiative's Progress And Next Phase

Oct 31, 2012

Writing in GlobalPost’s “Global Pulse” blog, Nicola Pardy, an editorial intern at GlobalPost, reflects on the closure of the Global Health Initiative (GHI) office announced in July, noting that the government announced the establishment of a new Office of Global Health Diplomacy. She asks, “So, what has changed in this next phase of the initiative?” Pardy quotes Foreign Policy’s “The Cable” and the Center for Global Development’s “Global Health Policy” blogs, which commented on the announcement. She also cites a recent report by the Kaiser Family Foundation that examines how countries are responding to and implementing the women, girls, and gender equality principle of the GHI; highlights two case studies on GHI reproductive health-related activities in Guatemala (.pdf) and Ethiopia (.pdf) released by the Change Center for Health and Gender Equity in June; and notes an analysis of the GHI published in the Lancet this month. She concludes, “GHI’s lofty objectives have yet to come to fruition. Now it’s time to see whether the initiative has both the momentum and leadership to get there” (10/26).